Car-brake



(N0 ModelJ) H. E. COLLETT.

GAR BRAKE No. 460,113. Patented Sept. 29, 1891.

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$52M, f IATTEIR EV NITED STATES HERBERT E. COLLETT, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- PATENT OFFIGE.

FOURTI'IS TO AUSTIN B. COLLETT, OF SAME PLACE, AND MARTIN M. TOBIN AND JAMES I GLEASON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,113, dated September 29,1891. Application filed March 10, 1891. Serial No. 384,417. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERBERT E. COLLETT, of Lynn, in the county of Essex, State of lllassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Brakes, of which the following is a description snfficient-ly full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in Which Figure 1 is an elevation,partly in section, showing my improved brake'handle in position for use, the brake-rod being represented as broken off and Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section, enlarged, of the clutch mechanism, the brake-rod being shown in elevation.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawings.

My invention relates especially to changeable brake-handles which are particularly adapted for use on street-cars; and it consists in certain novel features hereinafter fully set forth and claimed, the object being to produce a simpler, cheaper, and more effective device of this character than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters from the'following explanation.

In the drawings, A represents the brakerod, and B the handle. The brakerod is mounted in the ordinary manner on the car and bears at its upper end one member f of a spring-clutch mechanism C. The extreme upper end of the brake-rod is reduced, forming a spindle g, Which is screw-threaded at h. On said spindle the companion member 2' of the spring-clutch is loosely mounted, said member being provided with an exteriorly screw-threaded hub j. A coiled spring 76 is disposed around the spindle g and bears against said hub. A nut m, turned onto the threaded portion h of said spindle, regulates the tension of said spring. The handle B is of the ordinary form of car-brake handles of this class. The butt of the handle is chameted to receive said rod.

bered to receive the clutch mechanism C and is interiorly screw-threaded at p to receive the threaded hub j of the clutch member i. The bottom of the chamber is extended at q to receive the end of the spindle g.

It is well known that in operating the brakes of street-cars wherein the brake-rod is rotated by hand it is frequently necessary to change the position of the handle on said brake-rod in order to bring it into the proper position to obtain the amount of purchase necessary to set the brakes. The necessity for such change is caused by the frequent changing in the amount of the load on the car, the brake-shoes as the car becomes weighted gradually falling and requiring the chain moving the brake-beam to be taken up farther in forcing said shoes against the Wheel.

In the ordinary construction the top of the brake-rod is squared and the handle sock- The change is effected by holding the brake-rod by its click when the brakes have been set up and then removing the handle and replacing it in the ordinary position. The handles in this construction frequently become displaced and lost or broken. My invention obviates these and other objections and enables the relative position of the handle to be quickly and readily changed Without removing it from the brake-rod.

In its use the handle is manipulated in the ordinary manner in setting the brake, the spring-clutch tightly locking the handle and rod together when rotated in one direction. The brake being set and the rod A held by its click, by reciprocating the handle the clutch member 1' will ride 011 the teeth of its companion member f by compressing the spring is and enabling the handle B to be quickly adjusted in any position.

The handle is provided with an opening 15, in which a set-screw may be inserted to engage the nut m. By rotating the handle B from right to left said nut may be turned off from the threaded portion 7L of the spindle g, enabling the handle and upper clutch-section to be Withdrawn from said spindle when necessary for repairs.

I do not confine myself to threading the clutch member 1', as the handle B may be pinned thereto or secured in any other suit- 5 I claim is 1. In a car-brake, a brake-rod having its upper end reduced to form a spindle, in combination with a clutch member secured to said rod adjacent said spindle, a companion member mounted loose on said spindle, a

push-spring interposed between a projection on said spindle and said loose member, and a brake-handle chambered to receive said clutch mechanism and detachably secured to the loose member thereof, substantially as set forth.

2. In a car-brake, a brake-rod having a clutch member secured thereon, in combination with a companion. clutch member loose on said rod and having a screw-threaded hub,

a nut turned onto said rod above said hub, a

and hub, and a brake-handle chambered to receive said clutch mechanism and interiorly threaded to receive said hub, substantially as described.

threaded spindle g, in combination With the clutch member f, secured to said rod, the companion member 2', loose on said spindle and having the threaded hub j, the nut m on said spindle, the coiled spring k, interposed between said nut and hub, the handle B, chambered to receive said clutch members and spindle, and threaded at p to receive said hub, said handle being provided with an opening 25, registering with said nut, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

HERBERT E. COLLETT. WVitnesses:

O. M. SHAW,

K. DURFEE.

coiled spring interposed between said nut 3. The brake-rod A, provided with the 

